Sports

UEFA Super Cup final: Real Madrid, Atalanta battle to conquer Europe

Published

1 month ago

August 13, 2024

Admin

The stage is set for Wednesday night, as winners of the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, will meet UEFA Europa League winners, Atalanta, in Warsaw in the latest edition of the UEFA Super Cup final.

Both teams will aim to see who comes out on top as the King of Europe.

Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League trophy last season after beating Borussia Dortmund in the final, thanks to goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior.

Atalanta, on the other hand, won the UEFA Europa League trophy after beating Bayer Leverkusen in the final, thanks to Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick.

Ahead of Wednesday’s showdown, both teams look quite different compared to last season.

Real Madrid have already lost two key players, Toni Kroos and Nacho Fernandez this summer. Kroos retired from football following the conclusion of Euro 2024 in Germany, while Nacho left Santiago Bernabeu for Saudi Pro League.

Real Madrid’s experienced defender, David Alaba is expected to miss the game as he is currently recovering from a lengthy ACL injury.

However, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have strengthened their squad with new arrivals like Kylian Mbappe and Endrick as they will hope to lead the LaLiga champions for an unprecedented sixth UEFA Super Cup honour on Wednesday in Poland.

Real Madrid head to the game after losing two out of their last three matches against AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea.

For Atalanta, Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup final will be their first in the history of the club.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s men finished fourth-place in the Serie A last season.

They currently have an injury blow in their attack line as striker, Gianluca Scamacca tore his ACL during a preseason friendly.

Scamacca will miss at least six months with the injury now putting more pressure on Lookman leading the attack for the Serie A side.

Atalanta have made some marquee attacking signings like Charles De Ketelaere, Mateo Retegui, Ben Godfrey, Nicolo Zaniolo and Ibrahim Sulemana.

However, they head to the game after losing three out of their last four matches against AZ Alkmaar, Fiorentina, Parma and FC St. Pauli.

Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo Diagnosed Down With Viral Infection-Club

Published

2 days ago

September 17, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Al Nassr struggled in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence on Monday, when the Saudi club kicked off the revamped Asian Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Al Shorta in Iraq.

Al Nassr captain Ronaldo did not travel with the squad for the match in Baghdad, with the club issuing a statement a day before stating that the Portuguese superstar had been diagnosed with a viral infection.

The statement read: “Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t feeling well today and was diagnosed with a viral infection.

“The team’s doctor confirmed he needs to rest and stay at his place.

“As a result, he will not be travelling with the team to Iraq today. We wish a speedy recovery to our captain.”

Al Nassr, who were knocked out of last season’s Asian Champions League in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Al Ain, were given a dream start in the Iraqi capital, when full-back Sultan Al Ghannam met Otavio’s astute, first-time pass on 14 minutes to finish low past Al Shorta goalkeeper Ahmed Basil

Ronaldo is yet to win a major trophy with Al-Nassr since joining the Saudi club.